This invention relates generally to hand carts such as those used in supermarkets, warehouses, and the like, and particularly to hand carts of the type which may be collapsed for storage.
Collapsible type carts and carriers have existed for a number of years. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,564,939 a foldable shopping cart is disclosed having sides hinged for inward folding movement. In. U.S. Pat. No. 3,092,395 a corrugated shopping cart is presented having both sides and front panel members which may be folded to overlay one another. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,305,243 teaches a luggage cart having coplanar floor members which may be folded one atop the other. Other representative prior art patents illustrating collapsible carts include U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,959, 3,194,576, and 3,774,929. The present invention relates to improvements in such collapsible type carts.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved collapsible cart.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cart which may be readily collapsed into a compact configuration for storage in minimal space.
Another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible cart having one or more pairs of support wheels which cart may be readily collapsed and stored with the wheels raised above the cart supporting terrain.
Another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible cart with catch means for releasibly supporting floor panels in a mutual coplanar configuration when the cart is disposed in an open configuration, and for releasibly holding the side panels closely together when the cart is disposed in the collapsed configuration.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible cart of the type described which may be fabricated from relatively few structurally distinct components, some of which may serve dual structural functions.